Team motivation is one of the most important drivers of success. According to Plecto, profitability increases by 21% when teams are highly engaged. Operators are constantly battling staffing issues due to high employee turnover, and lack of motivation can be a significant contributing factor. Building motivation happens through culture and building a place where people understand expectations, are recognized, and are rewarded for great work.
Motivation takes genuine effort and mindful planning to build a holistic approach to improve your team’s engagement. For example, a one-time productivity incentive might motivate your team temporarily, but once that incentive is given out, the motivation and drive to earn it dissipates. Peter Scholtes (author of The Leader’s Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done) says managers should focus on removing obstacles that demotivate workers rather than trying to motivate them. Using money as a motivator only works until that money is earned.
Many publications list three engagement levels for employees. Engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged. With a system like this in place, it’ll be easier to grasp who is a self-motivator, who needs the extra push, and who isn’t checked in at all. Employees might be unmotivated because they don’t understand their role and aren’t recognized. As a manager it’s important to observe your employees, get to know them, and understand what drives them. Cater to those personal needs, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to this.
There are times when employee motivation is a trickle-down effect. Motivation isn’t always measured on a location-by-location basis. By enacting core values and standing by their mission statement, companies can improve employee motivation. PreciTaste’s primary core value is “Dare To Make Impact”, which encourages employees to be bold, take risks and be innovative through impactful solutions. Chick-fil-A defines its purpose as “To positively influence all those who come in contact with Chick-fil-A”. They don’t stop with that statement, they provide cultural training and leadership development to ensure employees are equipped to succeed, able to grow as individuals, and are staying motivated.
Another way to motivate employees is to add gamification to their everyday tasks and assignments. Gamification adds engagement, can make tasks more enjoyable, and sparks motivation. With a leaderboard tracking completed tasks and assigning scores, team members can have a heightened sense of ownership and pride in what they do. Managers are also able to allocate incentives and rewards for certain benchmarks. A great use of this tool is to create competition across franchises. PreciTaste gamifies the back-of-house by creating employee and franchisee location leadership boards on their reporting platforms. This is a great tool for multi-location owners, as it can help them easily assign benchmarks and track progress across operations.
Employees are far less likely to burn out when motivated. If you’re looking for ways to minimize employee turnover and retain a great crew, motivation should be a top priority on your list!